Which S&O hourly wage may you use?
New applicants calculate with a fixed hourly amount of €29 in 2026. If your company already has historical S&O wage data with RVO, RVO uses your average actual S&O hourly wage from two calendar years earlier. That average is determined on the basis of the citizen service numbers you have supplied for each R&D employee.
Announced for 2027: the fixed hourly amount is proposed to increase from €29 to €33. The increase is proposed in the Fiscale verzamelwet 2027 and is subject to parliamentary approval before becoming final. See WBSO 2027.
From hours to wage costs
The calculation is straightforward: S&O wages = number of R&D hours × S&O hourly wage. At 2,000 hours using the fixed hourly amount, this is 2,000 × €29 = €58,000. An amount for costs and expenditures may then be added (fixed or actual), creating the total S&O base to which the percentage applies.
Example for the first bracket in 2026: €58,000 + fixed amount €22,800 = €80,800 base × 36% = €29,088 benefit through lower payroll tax remittance.
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What is included in S&O wage costs?
- The wages of employees who actually work R&D hours (employed or treated as equivalent).
- Proportionally: only the hours attributable to the R&D project.
- Allowances, bonuses and commission proportionally, plus a fixed allowance for social security charges.
- Not included: wages for production, implementation, sales, support or management — those hours are not R&D.
Important: a developer outsourced from an external agency does not count as S&O wages. The scheme is based on the wages of your own employees.
Wage costs and administration
Your S&O wage records must correspond with the payroll records you already maintain: per employee, period and project. During an audit, RVO may ask for hours records, project files and payslips for the employees concerned. Good setup in advance prevents disputes afterwards.
More about this: WBSO administration and hours registration.
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SOURCES AND SUBSTANTIVE REVIEW
RVO — WBSO Guide 2026
Reviewed by Peter Klaren, WBSO specialist since 2004. Last substantively updated: 21 September 2026.